Tools
Simship Work-Back Schedule Calculator
Enter your release date and the platforms you're shipping on. The calculator works backwards and gives you the key milestone dates for your production calendar.
The date your game goes live on all selected platforms simultaneously. Every milestone below is calculated backwards from here.
Platforms
Select every platform included in the simship. Each adds its own cert pipeline to the schedule.
External QA
If you're using an external QA house, their window needs to sit before your cert build.
How many languages you're shipping. More languages means an earlier loc delivery, since final text and LQA must be integrated before content lock.
Your Work-Back Schedule
Your release date falls near the end-of-year period. Nintendo and Sony typically freeze cert review from late December. Verify your submission window directly with your platform contacts before locking this schedule. Cert windows crossing this freeze have been extended to account for the review pause.
Your schedule runs through the European summer period. Studios and first-party cert teams often run reduced staffing from mid-July through August. Review and submission turnaround can stretch. Confirm holiday coverage with your platform contacts before locking this schedule. Cert windows crossing this freeze have been extended to account for the review pause.
Tight Switch store window. On Switch the eShop page can only be submitted after the build passes lot check, which leaves limited time before launch for Nintendo to review the store page. Verify the eShop page can be reviewed in time, or pull the Switch cert earlier, before locking this schedule.
Pick a target release date to generate your work-back schedule.
The timeline charts are optimised for desktop. Open this tool on a larger screen to see the Build and Store Gantt charts.
Notes
- Cert timelines are estimates, not slots. The dates above are based on typical first-party review windows: ~4 to 6 weeks for Nintendo Lot Check, ~3 to 4 weeks for PlayStation TRC, ~2 to 3 weeks for Xbox. Actual timelines vary based on queue depth, build complexity, and how many iterations your submission requires. Treat these dates as a planning baseline, not a confirmed calendar.
- First submissions rarely pass, so plan for three rounds. The schedule above lists three cert submissions per console: an initial submission with a full cert-check window, working days to fix bugs, a second submission, then a short final re-check before go-live. A submission that passes on the first attempt is the exception, especially on Nintendo. Treat a first-pass approval as a bonus, not a plan.
- Always verify directly with your platform contacts. Nintendo queue times in particular fluctuate significantly. Confirm your submission window via your developer portal or account manager before committing milestone dates to a publisher or investor. The same applies to holiday periods: both Nintendo and Sony have historically paused cert review in late December, but dates change year to year.
- Store and build are separate tracks, with one exception. On Steam, Xbox and PlayStation the coming-soon store page can go live before the build is even submitted. On Nintendo Switch it cannot: the eShop page can only be submitted after the build passes lot check, and it needs at least 10 working days of review, so the Switch build approval is pulled that far ahead of launch. On every platform the store page must carry a final price and release date and time before it will be accepted for launch. Miss that and the product will not be visible or pre-orderable, even if the build passed.
- The driving platform sets your content lock. When shipping on multiple platforms simultaneously, the platform with the longest cert pipeline (almost always Nintendo Switch) determines your content lock date for the entire project. If you add a platform late, recalculate the whole schedule from the new driving milestone.
- Estimation only. This calculator gives you a planning framework, not a production guarantee. Real schedules depend on build stability, team capacity, first-party feedback cycles, and factors outside your control. Use it to structure your thinking and stress-test your timeline, not as a substitute for working with an experienced producer.
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